Stoney Point - It has been too long since we have paid attention to our bird feeder. With spring here, we filled the feeder over the weekend and it was a busy few days in the backyard.

Today, we saw a Brown Creeper lurking in the trees by Lake St. Clair. While he never made it to the feeder, we were able to catch a small glimpse of him in this out of focus shot.

Wikipedia says...Adults are brown on the upperparts with light spotting, resembling a piece of tree bark, with white underparts. They have a long thin bill with a slight downward curve and a long stiff tail used for support as the bird creeps upwards. The male creeper has a slightly larger bill than the female. The brown creeper is 11.7–13.5 cm (4.6–5.3 in) long.

Its voice includes single very high pitched, short, often insistent, piercing calls; see, or swee. The song often has a cadence like; pee pee willow wee or see tidle swee, with notes similar to the calls.

Their breeding habitat is mature forests, especially conifers, in Canada, Alaska and the northeastern and western United States. They are permanent residents through much of their range; many northern birds migrate farther south to the United States.

In his lifetime, Chris Savard has spent time as both an elected official and a hot air balloon pilot. As such, FULL OF HOT AIR seemed to be an appropriate name for this column. Savard will provide his thoughts on a number of topics including hockey on this site, as well as politics and local issues on OurHometown.ca. His opinion combined with $1.60 will buy you a medium coffee at Tim's! You can email him at csavard@ourhometown.ca